Funnyman Louie Anderson— best known for his appearance in Coming to America with Eddie Murphy—died at age 68 filled with regret over a gay sex scandal that derailed his career.
The Emmy-winner, who succumbed to blood cancer on Jan. 21 after days in a Las Vegas hospital, also suffered in recent years from fallout of the sex harassment scandal that exploded in 2017 after fellow comedian Tom Rhodes, now 54, claimed Louie kissed and groped him at his Beverly Hills apartment when he was 19.
Rhodes insists Anderson lured him to his pad with by offering to mentor him after a stint at L.A.’ Candy Store.
Louie said it was a misunderstanding and apologized for how his actions were perceived.
“I really regret that Tom felt put upon and felt uncomfortable,” Anderson said. “I had no idea. I was a big flirt back then, and so that’s a possibility that that happened, and I regret that. I regret that he would be put in that position. And I’m truly sorry for it.”
But the damage was done – and his career cooled despite having two Emmy Awards under his massive belt.
Louie, who once tipped the scales at 380 pounds, struggled with his weight for decades.
Last year, the comic said he’d shed 40 pounds last year on a intermittent fasting diet as part of his bid to get healthy. But he was hit by Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which chemotherapy couldn’t stop.
Longevity expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin told the National ENQUIRER DLBCL is a very fast-growing and aggressive form of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma which is usually fatal if not caught early.
A longtime friend and fellow comic says, “Louie knew the end was coming soon when he went into the hospital. But he wanted to go out laughing!”
